Hardwood floors are some of the most aesthetically and spectacular flooring finishes available. They live and breath rich life into an decor.

With them comes their need for prevention and routine manual care and maintenance.

the best way to prevent scratches from a vaccuum is to never roll a vaccuum accross it in the first place.

do not use murphys oil soap ... it will leave a residue over time.

do not damp mop ...

do not use a wet swiffer ...

DO USE a dry mop, preferably one with a terry-cloth head.

Spills and accident should be cleaned up immediately with a soft cloth.

periodic cleaning can be done with a cleaning and finish resoration product recommended by your hardwopod manufacturer. Most have websites and articles or instuctions on routine care and maintenance.

PREVENTION should be taken in some of the following ways to prevent dust and dirt buildup and not allowing foreign particles and substanbces that can scratch a hardwood floor. Place non-rubber-bottomed (bristle type) mats inside exterior doorways, and added protection of another mat outside the doorway. Use felt pads on the bottom of furniture.

Get care and maintenance guildines and instructions from your wood flooring manufacturer, and folow them for the ultimate longevity of your hardwood flooring sytem.

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I suggest the square terry blue mop from bona kemi. I am not sure if a vacumn will get up the dust that this can. I just heard of a high power dust buster from B and Decker with a rotating adjustable head with tools that might be a good idea for the corners and being a good "dust pan".

For me the thought of unraveling and unplugging every time seems a bit much.IMO

Thanks for your follow-up. We assumed we should vacuum because the maintenance guide for Junkers Hrdwood says:

"Maintenance should include sweeping or vacuuming daily and a
thorough weekly cleaning using the Junckers shine mop maintenance program."

We'd be happy just to dry mop it, I think. Do you think sweeping is OK, maybe with an electric broom?

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Do you think sweeping is OK, maybe with an electric broom?
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if it scratches it, no ... if it doesnt scratch it, yes.

on our hardwood flooring we only dry/dust mop and periodically refresh with the manufacturers cleaning and restoration product as well as use mats at doorways to keep outside debris at a minimum.

no scratches in 8 years.

in the end the choice is yours.

Many people think that motorized cleaning appliances add efficiency and expedite the cleaning process until they sctratch the floor with them.

Home Depot sells a really neat dry mop that has a swivel-head about the size of a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels. On the outside of it is a removable terry type cloth that can be washed. It is just wonderful for "sweeping & dusting" hardwood floors. I typically will sweep everything into a pile and then suck up the dirt pile with either a dust-buster or vacuum. That way I'm not rolling wheels over the floor all the time to vacuum.

We use a swiffer vacuum (it's NOT a swiffer wetvac) -- it works great for picking up all the pet hair and crumbs, etc. It plugs in to charge up, and I don't see anyway that it could scratch the floor, since you're basically rubbing a soft swiffer cloth across the floor (the vacuum part is slightly raised, and is not touching the floor at any point). Only downside is that the swiffer cloths are a little expensive. I like it better than using a broom...it seems to do a much better job of picking up hair (with two cats, that's a major concern).

Here is a link that might be useful: Reviews of the Swiffer Sweep Vac

Great tip!!!!! A pack of 16 clothes are 3.95. that does not seem to bad. How long does a clothes last? One time?

Well, I have 1200 square feet to vacuum, and one cloth gets pretty grungy in one use -- if you're vacuuming several times a week, then you'll probably go through cloths pretty quickly. If you have less space to vacuum, then maybe you won't go through them so fast. It depends on how dusty your house is (our house is old and drafty, and we collect dust like mad), and whether or not you have nasty little animals running through your house, too ;)

BUT -- I always flip the cloth over, and use the other side the next time I sweep. The other side picks up just as well.

I love my little sweepvac. It's very lightweight and easy to use. And my husband will even run it around with a minimum of grumbling!

We have over 2500 s.f. of hardwood in our home. I can't imagine the amount of Swiffer sheets I would need to use to clean my floor. For light dusting, I use a wide dust mop (sold in janitorial stores) -- it's probably about 3 feet wide and breezes through my floors. For more through cleaning, I use my central vac with the hardwood floor brush.

Since we have a dog that loves to get little pawprints or water drips from her bowl all over the place, I periodically use a damp mop with only a couple drops of dish detergent in the bucket. I do a small area, then immediately dry thoroughly with large towel. I never use Murphy's.

I would be very hesitant to use a vacuum because dirt gets embedded on the wheels and the weight of the vacuum along with that dirt may scratch the surface.

We have over 2500 s.f. of hardwood in our home.

Yes, with that amount of flooring, I wouldn't recommend it. With our amount (1200), the charge on the swiffer vac can last just long enough to do our entire floor, and that's about it. It wouldn't be able to do all of your floors. Never mind all the cloths!

anyone use the swiffer wetjet....our only wood is in the litchen / foyer so cloths would not be expensive.

I have 1600 sq ft of engineered hardwood. I use a wide washable floor duster found at Home Depot. It works wonderfully but I have dust bunnies the size of shoe boxes. I have no idea where that dust comes from other than there are no drapes or rugs in my house for the dust to hide into. I agree with the person that said dry mop into a pile and pick up with a cannister or smaller-sized vacuum cleaner. I've tried everything else in between. Good luck!

PLEASE visit http://www.emerusa.com and look at their canister vacs! I have a galileo (which I think is now discontinued) but I'm certain their other models such as the Boticelli or Ferrari would be just as great. Our entire 5000 sf home is hard wood and we have a border collie. I can't say enough about this vac and the strength of suction....brings the hair TO the head (amazing). I use the motorized carpet attachment for my rugs and it has amazing suction as well. We also use it on our car! I paid around $350 but it was totally worth it! I have tried so many "common" brands and been disappointed every time. Check out the demo video and you will be convinced! Great customer service as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Emer USA

Tip on the Swiffer. A lot of times you can use a wash cloth instead of their clothes. It just can't be a big fluffy one. I have done this several times and even used a wash cloth on a Swiffer head when I refinished my floors. OOOO... An old shirt works great for dusting floors on a Swiffer head too.

My personal recommendation is the Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum.

- Over 700 five star reviews on Amazon.
- Great price
- cordless
- Cleans well
- Easy to use
- Filter easy to clean
- Stands up to store

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoover LINX